Surviving.....

I've made a bench mark....I've survived a few "obstacles" these past few weeks....my first day "on my own" on the floor...and hospital wide orientation (which sounds like a piece of cake...but let me assure you....was stab your eyeballs out boring)----The larger of these two obstacles was definitely sitting through hospital wide orientation.

This being said....I feel as though I have come out on top. The more I work the more confident I feel in my position...which is always reassuring. And after signing the dotted line for benefits (which still impresses me that part timers get full time benefits here----all due to the union no doubt *insert sarcasm here*) I learned alot today---beyond which benefit plan fits best for my oh so complicated life (more sarcasm).
We had a few "motivational speakers" that presented on our mission as a hospital .... "world class people...world class medicine" ..... "changing medicine...changing lives" or something to that effect....the moral of the story basically being the golden rule and all that a swift kick in the ass by your mom during "home training" taught you when you were 5 years old. But one thing resonated with me and it is something I hope to take with me after all this "newness" wears off.... it is an outlook that I think anyone who works in a care giving role could benefit from.
The major point of the quote this speaker shared was this----as caregivers our lives can feel pretty overwhelming at times....like our jobs are never really fully done, like we are never really doing enough. We can get upset over our hectic schedules....we can bitch about how this situation we're in sucks and/or how we wish certain things about our lives were different....but the fact is....the very patients that we care for .... are the ones who really have it tough.
"Our everyday is their big deal"--- its a quote that hospital administrators want us all on the floor to remember----the people who come into the hospital....whether its because of chest pain, heart attacks, transplants, simple procedures or life changing diagnoses...the ones on the other side of our care....they are the ones who truly have it bad. And yet (from what I've seen so far) manage to stay positive.....show strength and courage through the most devastating times.....they are the ones we should be admiring. But for some reason we still can't help complaining about the things going "oh so wrong in our own lives."
In a hospital....on any given day....a persons life could change forever...in a matter of seconds....and lives do change...people lose loved ones....truly horrible things happen....and it is in these moments that an extra minute to care or show compassion about what a patient and/or their families are going through...is what really makes a difference. And if that isn't an outlook that can make you change your perspective on whats going "so wrong" in your life....I don't know what else can...

The reason I chose nursing in the first place was because I wanted to make a difference. It wasn't until getting involved with patients that I realized what a difference I can make (even in the simplest of ways). And I hope, as I struggle through juggling school and work and a life outside of both, that I don't forget that my everyday is someones big deal. I hope I don't miss out on chances to truly care for people when they need it the most.....because every patient is someones family...is someones friend...is something to someone...and knowing how much the people in my life mean to me.... I don't even want to be on the other side of horrible things that really do happen every day.

Staying thankful, staying positive, staying present and focused are the things always on my "to do list"